Tella

[DingleDangle]

What logic is there in judging Tella on 54 minutes of Bundesliga football rather than a full season of actually seeing him play for Burnley?

You failed to add on "In the Division below where we are now"

[Rileybobs]

I don’t think Tella would have been tearing up the Premier League, but it’s hard to argue that he wouldn’t have helped with the continuity, understanding and spirit in the group. Whether or not those signed in his place go on to be better players time will tell, but as things stand he would walk into our side.

[Dyched]

The Bundesliga is very poor defensively in comparison.

Kane has about double his PL rate last season. 17 in 11 I think.

So I’m not convinced Tella would bag many at this level. 5 a season I reckon.

That’s not really a measure of how good/bad the league is it?

Kane is now the CF of the most dominant team in a league. Not playing a deeper more creative role that he was in a team that finished 8th.

[DingleDangle]

I would sooner have used the £100 million or whatever it was on signing Tella, TBH and possibly Maatsen than signing half a dozen lightweighy, airy fairy wingers and supposed midfielders that we have.

Thank god you're not the manager then. The 3 you would spaff £100 million on were good in the Championship. This is a pretty big step up and it's not certain how they would have faired in the Premier League. However, as it's already been stated in that for whatever reason, seemingly Southampton moved the goalposts on how much they wanted for Tella, which it seems we weren't willing to pay. Chelsea didn't want to sell Maatsen early doors, but then before deadline day, they accepted a good offer from us, but then Maatsen didn't want to come as he'd already played pre-season for Chelsea. And for THB, well he's back playing in the Championship with Southampton.

Why not just accept that VK is the manager, has decided which personnel he wants and how he wishes to spend the money and get behind the team you support. The players we have now need time to bed in and adjust to the Premier League and to playing in a different country, full stop. There's not really anything to suggest that the 3 you mentioned would have been successful in the Premier League with us this season anyway.

[Jellybean]

So much more to Tella than the football, I think losing him and Barnes has contributed to the disintegration of our team ethic and spirit that was emboldened so well last year. They got the fans, we got them and saw them giving everything for that team, can you say the same now?

[DingleDangle]

So much more to Tella than the football, I think losing him and Barnes has contributed to the disintegration of our team ethic and spirit that was emboldened so well last year. They got the fans, we got them and saw them giving everything for that team, can you say the same now?

I agree to a certain extent and about keeping Barnes, however, Tella was never our player to lose. He was Southampton's player to lose and were it not for them messing us about, then yes, Tella would have been a Burnley player. However, he's not and VK has brought other players in that people need to stop writing them off and get behind them and the manager, instead of skriking their eyes out.

We all want success for the club, but you support your club through the bad times, rather than just the good times.

[DingleDangle]

'airy fairy w(h)ingers' - changed that for you Vino Blanco - kind of sums up quite a lot on this board this season

[Jellybean]

I agree to a certain extent and about keeping Barnes, however, Tella was never our player to lose. He was Southampton's player to lose and were it not for them messing us about, then yes, Tella would have been a Burnley player. However, he's not and VK has brought other players in that people need to stop writing them off and get behind them and the manager, instead of skriking their eyes out.

We all want success for the club, but you support your club through the bad times, rather than just the good times.

Very true, and I think from his performances for us we probably pushed his price up by 10m+, to our detriment.

I'm one of the most positive fans you'll meet, but it's no coincidence that since Barnes left and Tella to a lesser extent, the rapport that contributed to the atmosphere just isn't there now. It is a rarity in football, most of them seem to be just carbon copies of one another, fearful of showing passion or saying the wrong thing in an interview.

Anyway I'm pinning hopes on massenga being our new legend, hopefully his time comes soon.

[Exsus]

Tella and Maatsen should have been bought, no question.

[SouthLondonexile]

Tella and Maatsen should have been bought, no question.

I agree
As well as Harwood- Bellis.

[boatshed bill]

Tella and Maatsen should have been bought, no question.

I'm sure we did our best.

[JohnDearyMe]

I don’t think Tella would have been tearing up the Premier League, but it’s hard to argue that he wouldn’t have helped with the continuity, understanding and spirit in the group. Whether or not those signed in his place go on to be better players time will tell, but as things stand he would walk into our side.

I think we really miss his off the ball work which really really put opposition players under pressure last season

[TheOriginalLongsider]

A fantastic goal

https://youtu.be/VzStPZ0fwo8?si=3KQWfIgjL9rSza3t

Great goal. I really wish we had him

[ervi34]

The thing I liked the most about Tella was his fantastic movement. He was a lot more dynamic than every other winger we had last season. Yes, Zaroury and Benson were brilliant for us, but their playstyle was a lot more different. They would often position themselves near the sideline and then try to progress with the ball once they received it. On the other hand, Tella made a lot of runs behind the defense which gave us another dimension when attacking. Only player that tries doing that in our current squad is Bruun Larsen and he rarely plays.

And on top of all that, he pressed really well and was our top scorer.

[dsr]

So much more to Tella than the football, I think losing him and Barnes has contributed to the disintegration of our team ethic and spirit that was emboldened so well last year. They got the fans, we got them and saw them giving everything for that team, can you say the same now?

I haven't seen a disintegration of team spirit. They still look like they are working hard and working together.

[Conroysleftfoot]

The thing I liked the most about Tella was his fantastic movement. He was a lot more dynamic than every other winger we had last season. Yes, Zaroury and Benson were brilliant for us, but their playstyle was a lot more different. They would often position themselves near the sideline and then try to progress with the ball once they received it. On the other hand, Tella made a lot of runs behind the defense which gave us another dimension when attacking. Only player that tries doing that in our current squad is Bruun Larsen and he rarely plays.

And on top of all that, he pressed really well and was our top scorer.

Spot on. He also looked liked he was really enjoying himself, his enthusiasm was infectious.

[boatshed bill]

I haven't seen a disintegration of team spirit. They still look like they are working hard and working together.

The main difference is the level of pressure they are under.
It's obvious they look happy when battering almost every other team in the division.

[spt_claret]

The thing I liked the most about Tella was his fantastic movement. He was a lot more dynamic than every other winger we had last season. Yes, Zaroury and Benson were brilliant for us, but their playstyle was a lot more different. They would often position themselves near the sideline and then try to progress with the ball once they received it. On the other hand, Tella made a lot of runs behind the defense which gave us another dimension when attacking. Only player that tries doing that in our current squad is Bruun Larsen and he rarely plays.

And on top of all that, he pressed really well and was our top scorer.

Fully agree. Obafemi could possibly do it, I feel like Amdouni has the attributes to but he's not used in that role, but we don't have a like-for-like for Tella. I'd agree Larsen is the closest in style (although possibly a bit better going on the outside) but hasn't got Tella's pace so those direct channel runs aren't as effective, but his attributes in general are why I keep thinking he could deputise as a striker.

Tella gave us a different dimension, and having Ekdal & Muric further back gave us players who could provide that through/over-the-top outball to him. It was a an effective weapon for us and we've lost it, I did think he was overpriced at the time but that was working on the assumption that we would sign a replacement. We didn't, and we've lost an aspect of our game in the process.

[GodIsADeeJay81]

Tella and Maatsen should have been bought, no question.

We offered £30 million for Maatsen, but he didn’t want to come and he’s now spending most of his time warming the bench at Chelsea

Tella - Saints weren’t inclined to sell to us and he’s now spending most of his time warming the bench in Germany

[Jakubclaret]

We offered £30 million for Maatsen, but he didn’t want to come and he’s now spending most of his time warming the bench at Chelsea

Tella - Saints weren’t inclined to sell to us and he’s now spending most of his time warming the bench in Germany

There's no real evidence there that we did offer £30 million but it's fair to say if we did or didn't he certainly wasn't up for coming.

[GodIsADeeJay81]

There's no real evidence there that we did offer £30 million but it's fair to say if we did or didn't he certainly wasn't up for coming.

No evidence despite all the reports that we offered the amount

He wanted to fight for his place at Chelsea and at the min it isn’t working for him
He’ll be off in Jan or the summer

[Jakubclaret]

No evidence despite all the reports that we offered the amount

He wanted to fight for his place at Chelsea and at the min it isn’t working for him
He’ll be off in Jan or the summer

Each to their own but I seriously doubt the club would spend that sort of money.

[Swizzlestick]

The amount is irrelevant, Chelsea accepted the bid but the player turned us down.

[Jakubclaret]

The amount is irrelevant, Chelsea accepted the bid but the player turned us down.

That part is true it matters very little it's universally accepted he wasn't coming.

[Carlos the Great]

Draw a line under it and move on, there is no point spending time on something that you cant do anything about.

We are discussing what appears to be a monumental mistake and apparent at the time to everyone in not signing Tella .. we can’t do anything about any other players signings or running of the club either so
Should we not discuss anything ?

[MDWat]

I think Amdouni is considerably more talented than Tella and Luca at £3m was better business. Id have loved Tella back but not at the expense of those two.

I actually think we’ve signed some excellent players, got the balance slightly wrong and now we need time to build cohesion so we’re no longer a team of strangers.

We’ve really gone full circle on this board with KRBFC now one of the more rational, sensible posters.

I agree on all counts. The difficulty is the patience. Fans have different patience levels and the harsh reality is, at this level, if you don’t have that cohesion as a team you’re likely to get pumped quite often. No surprise then that we’re getting pumped quite often.

I think it’ll come together. We need a couple of signings in key areas (centre midfield and full back, and a striker if Foster isn’t going to be back for a while) to balance the team up. It’s just a case of whether it comes together in time or not.

[dougcollins]

Fully agree. Obafemi could possibly do it, I feel like Amdouni has the attributes to but he's not used in that role, but we don't have a like-for-like for Tella. I'd agree Larsen is the closest in style (although possibly a bit better going on the outside) but hasn't got Tella's pace so those direct channel runs aren't as effective, but his attributes in general are why I keep thinking he could deputise as a striker.

Disagree about Amdouni. Nowhere near the pace of Tella, he generally looks like he's running in treacle.

[GodIsADeeJay81]

Each to their own but I seriously doubt the club would spend that sort of money.

Doubt it all you want, but a loan to buy offer of £31.5 million was accepted by Chelsea from Burnley

Quite why you won’t believe I’m not sure but it’s a fact the offer was made and accepted

Feel free to argue against it though, that’s usually what you do

[ClaretAL]

We are discussing what appears to be a monumental mistake and apparent at the time to everyone in not signing Tella .. we can’t do anything about any other players signings or running of the club either so
Should we not discuss anything ?

Which has been discussed and debated many many many times on similar threads so I don't see the need to keep going over old ground.

[Jakubclaret]

Doubt it all you want, but a loan to buy offer of £31.5 million was accepted by Chelsea from Burnley

Quite why you won’t believe I’m not sure but it’s a fact the offer was made and accepted

Feel free to argue against it though, that’s usually what you do

Tella was available for around £20m & they wouldn't spend that he ended up eventually going for £20m elsewhere & why would maatsen be valued at £30+ when Marc guehi of a similar statue/pedigree ended up going for £18m. Usually do

[KRBFC]

We’ve really gone full circle on this board with KRBFC now one of the more rational, sensible posters.

I agree on all counts. The difficulty is the patience. Fans have different patience levels and the harsh reality is, at this level, if you don’t have that cohesion as a team you’re likely to get pumped quite often. No surprise then that we’re getting pumped quite often.

I think it’ll come together. We need a couple of signings in key areas (centre midfield and full back, and a striker if Foster isn’t going to be back for a while) to balance the team up. It’s just a case of whether it comes together in time or not.

Football fans are just unbelievably fickle, change their opinion more than their socks. You’re only as good as your last game these days. It took 2 or 3 games this season for fans on here to turn on VK, remarkable really.

[Carlos the Great]

Which has been discussed and debated many many many times on similar threads so I don't see the need to keep going over old ground.

I think if we weren’t below Luton and Sheffield United in this league it wouldn’t be so much of an issue ..but we are bottom of the league having spent 100 million people are asking .. Why didn’t we try sign the lad who shot us into the top flight .. it will continue to be asked everyime we fail to score or lose at home

[jos]

I haven’t read all the comments but my contribution to this is that he was a joy to watch and played with a smile on his face, I did hope that we might sign him but hey ho, you can’t have everything. I wish him the best.

UTC

[spt_claret]

Disagree about Amdouni. Nowhere near the pace of Tella, he generally looks like he's running in treacle.

He carries the ball incredibly quickly, he might not be as much of a top-end sprinter but his dribbling speed is very impressive to me, and his ability to keep it close while he does. Might not quite be able to do the runs in behind like Tella but if he can get onto the ball in those areas/space I'd fancy him to be able to move it forwards at similar speed.

In recent-ish history it was an attribute Ings and Elliott had- Ings didn't have the pace of Andre Gray who came after but could run with the ball at his feet much faster, Elliott wasn't a rapid winger but could also dribble fast with it. At the top level that's sometimes (not always) more important than raw sprint speed but ideally you get someone like Bale who can peg it with or without the ball.

[Quicknick]

He carries the ball incredibly quickly, he might not be as much of a top-end sprinter but his dribbling speed is very impressive to me, and his ability to keep it close while he does. Might not quite be able to do the runs in behind like Tella but if he can get onto the ball in those areas/space I'd fancy him to be able to move it forwards at similar speed.

In recent-ish history it was an attribute Ings and Elliott had- Ings didn't have the pace of Andre Gray who came after but could run with the ball at his feet much faster, Elliott wasn't a rapid winger but could also dribble fast with it. At the top level that's sometimes (not always) more important than raw sprint speed but ideally you get someone like Bale who can peg it with or without the ball.

Good points there. David Eyres was like that, albeit at a lower level.